Pushy campaigns help no one

Last Monday, the London-North-Centre byelection took place. Despite the Green Party's strong campaign, it finished second while the Liberals took the MP seat.

The Green Party's campaign included approaching students on campus, and many believed it crossed the line with its aggressive methods.

Students should be able to get to class without having campaigners in their faces. Aggressive canvassing can annoy voters and may actually work against a party's effort to gain votes.

People who initially decided to vote Green may have changed their minds based on harassment. The more insistent campaigners are, the more desperate they seem. The Green Party's approach looked more like a "sales pitch" of a political product than an informative campaign.

However, we're all adults; we can tell the campaigners to leave us alone if we want. Yet many students complained they were still harassed after refusing to speak with campaigners.

It's important to engage students and inform them about politics. If it means trying harder to spread the word, especially to apathetic students, tactics like these are necessary.

There are other ways, however, to inform people about candidates' platforms without being obtrusive.

Some campaigning tactics are childish; one party placed an arrow pointing to a campus garbage can reading "Liberal voting poll." Such actions are fit for a high school campaign with an "I'll change the world if you vote for me!" attitude that students may not take seriously. In addition, regurgitating scripted messages to students hardly seems sincere.

If parties or candidates used conventional promotions like posters and signs, campaigners wouldn't have to canvass so hard to get their message out.

The university is responsible for monitoring the use of signs and promotions on campus. Just as the University Students' Council regulates people's actions inside the University Community Centre during campaigns, it should regulate all of campus.

University is an ideal place for discussion and debate; campaigning is therefore essential. But it should be conducted maturely. For example, it could include using speakers, setting up booths and organizing rallies where students can approach campaigners.

Learning to speak your mind and spread your message is a good life lesson. The Green Party, however, took that lesson too far and invaded people's physical space on campus. Its pushy methods may have even alienated those who wanted to vote Green. Campaigns are important on campus, but they must be conducted maturely and respectfully.

Author:Gazette Staff

How Canadian is ‘O Canada?'

Near the end of last week's University Students' Council meeting, a representative inquired as to why the council sings "O Canada" at the beginning of each meeting. The representative was offended because the song refers to God. The representative felt the USC, a secular body, shouldn't be involved with this religious reference.

Dave Ward: I'm glad I wasn't at the meeting. As a patriotic Canadian, it's entirely possible I would have said or done something inappropriate based on pure emotion. "O Canada" is a symbol of our Canadian identity. Kudos to the USC for including it in every meeting.

The reference to God in our anthem reflects the views of our nation's founders and their time. By singing the song, we honour the work of those founders and celebrate Canada without necessarily endorsing God or Christianity. Not singing our national anthem or, even worse, changing it, would disrespect past generations of Canadians and, in particular, our generation.

Georgia Tanner: While I agree the USC should pay respect to our country before every meeting, I don't think questioning singing "O Canada" as a means to do so was offside.

It's true the anthem has history tied to it, and I feel a great sense of pride whenever the song is played at public events like hockey games. However, when the song was written, Canada was a different country. Today, Canadians define themselves and take pride in being tolerant of different cultures and lifestyles; I don't think the anthem reflects these Canadian values.

Dave Ward: I'm one of the most devoutly atheist people you'll ever meet. However, I realize saying "God keep our land" doesn't mean I'm promoting religion. In fact, it demonstrates a uniquely Canadian level of tolerance.

In the United States, arguments frequently crop up calling for the removal or reaffirmation of God in official language. In Canada, we avoid this debate, as either side of it involves drum beating. Is Canada still subject to the rule of the Queen? No. Is she still on all our coins and a figurehead in our society? Of course. It's inherently Canadian to respect our past values even if they no longer reflect our current ones.

Georgia Tanner: I disagree; I think Canadians are especially good at shedding dated values. When Joe Clark called Canada a "community of communities," he expressed how our nation is moving beyond a singular, rigid way of defining ourselves.

Our coinage honours our historical and symbolic ties to Britain, which I appreciate as part of our culture. But I have to wonder - other than the strong sentimental value our anthem holds, does it do much else? Even the famous Molson "I am Canadian" beer ad seems like a better articulation of our modern culture.

Dave Ward: National anthems' history makes them a source of pride in our culture. If we changed "O Canada," it would no longer be our national anthem.

Author:Gazette Staff

What defines us as Canadians?

"I like having the ability to say you're Italian-Canadian, Chinese-Canadian, etc. It's not a melting pot. In the States you say you're American even if your background stems from somewhere else."
- Andrew BartucciMIT II

"I like how, as Canadians, we can laugh at ourselves."
- Sophia NallaiahArts II

"Being Canadian is about the freedom to be who you are and multiculturalism"
- Jeff SoutarMusic II

"Even Canadian hip-hop is starting to get bigger. Many of Classified's songs are about the Maritimes; he even mentions Alexander Keith's. I smoked a joint with him at a concert once, he's very accessible, kind of representative of the feel of Canada."
- Paul WillsonMIT II

"We get to live like Americans but don't have to call ourselves American."
- Mike Kennedy Law II

"Three of the four major league sports all have Canadian MVPs - and we invented hockey. We're also a very diverse, multicultural society."
- Jamal JomaaBMOS I

"Free health care. I feel like our government knows how to take care of us and they do."
- Megan PressFine Arts II

"I feel the most pride when our Olympic teams do well."
- Dave TrevailBMOS I